Today is June 7, 2017. What’s new in Kitchener Waterloo?
Kitchener Champ knocked out by a wallaby
Kitchener’s 11 year old spelling bee champ got knocked out of the competition by the word Quokka – a kind of Australian wallaby.
Ubookquitous
First it was little libraries of books on front lawns, now it’s books on bikes. Books, once the private domain of institutions and the wealthy are now ubiquitous.
Ubikequitous
And speaking of bikes, June is Bike Month. Get free lights at the bike events this month
Mount Trashmore
Closed for the summer, much of McLennen Park for needed repairs. The dog park is open. Kids who want to splash can visit Lion’s Lagoon in Waterloo Park as Kiwanis Pool is also closed for repairs..
May showers
Combined April and May this spring were the third wettest in 100 years. Yeah, we already knew that.
Ah, yup
Two whole scintillating years before Oktoberfest, we were already selling quilts and rhubarb pies. There are 30 wonderful kinds of Mennonite in Southwestern Ontario.
Mobile home
An 1864 farmhouse might be moved a little bit down the road to make room for an expanding suburb in the Huron Park area.
Life is grand if you have a porch
After taking into account performance length, porch size and music type The Grand Porch Party has picked its lineup for this year. Here it is:
East Ward Dogs
Sounds like a Tarantino movie. If you have a dog, head over to Kitchener’s lovely East Ward and celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday (that’s over 1000 dog years)
Gone in 12 days
In May, KW real estate spent an average of 12 days on the market. Compared to 24 days a year ago. In fact, May set a new record for the number of home sales. Again. That’s the second month in a row. But it is not all hot, hot, hot. Sales prices slip slightly away.
Jewel less a couple of diamonds
Waterloo Park, the jewel in the city will be losing a couple of baseball diamonds in a couple of years. The baseball diamonds are being replaced with nothing – a new public space big enough to hold event and festivals.
Who said diamonds are forever?
Going green
With the new garbage rules, green bin use is up 50% in Waterloo Region. It’s amazing what people will do when you give them no choice.
The tale of two trails
The Iron horse Trail and the new Spurline Trail are both getting some improvements. Signage, widening and better crossings are in the works.
Everyone loves Beechwood
Sometimes it’s fun to see what local Redditors think. If you could buy a house in any neighbourhood…?
Fido Fuel
The city of Waterloo is piloting a program to turn dog waste into energy. Available at three area parks special containers have been set up, to collect the waste.
A signal of the times
Frankly I’m not really sure how roundabouts work, but they work for Waterloo Region and they work for me. As for signalling, I’m going to have to stop chewing gum in the car to do that properly.
Passing Ayr
One of the worst intersections in the region is even worse with the construction of a new roundabout. If you want to save time and a bit of frustration this summer then avoid the Ottawa Street – Homer-Watson intersection. You have to pass through Purgatory to get to Hell. You have to pass Ayr to get to Paris. But you don’t really have to pass through Ottawa/Homer Watson do you?
Broken Windows Theory
The City of Kitchener is proposing that vacant buildings cannot simple by boarded up anymore. They must look more or less like other homes on the street.
